The NFL and television network NBC are pointing the finger at each other over an obscene gesture made during Sunday night's Super Bowl half time show.

British hip hop star M.I.A. extended her middle finger and said an expletive while performing a song with Madonna, who headlined the mid-game entertainment.

The league said NBC tried to cover the gesture, but the network's delay system didn't work.

"There was a failure in NBC's delay system. The gesture in the performance was completely inappropriate, very disappointing, and we apologize to our fans," NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said in a statement.

NBC sports spokesman Christopher McCloskey responded by shifting the blame to the NFL.

"The NFL hired the talent and produced the halftime show," he said. "Our system was late to obscure the inappropriate gesture and we apologize to our viewers."

The Parent's Television Council was outraged at both groups for allowing the possibility of such a slip up.

Madonna is the first female to perform on the Super Bowl stage since Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" in 2004 that left her breast exposed.

The PTC was also very outspoken about that flub.

"The network cannot say it was caught off guard," the PTC said Monday after the M.I.A. incident.

"It has been eight years since the Janet Jackson striptease, and both NBC and the NFL knew full well what might happen," the group continued.

The PTC is urging leaders "to hold those accountable for this offensive material."